Is a capture card essential to use Resolve?

[Jean Déraps]

I'm looking into setting up Resolve on my MacPro and have consulted the Resolve Configuration which states that you need a capture card (like the DeckLink or Intensity). I'm assuming that this is if you want to have a monitor out to see your results on a reference monitor (I may be wrong). Are we still able to use Resolve without these cards?

I ask this question, not because I'm looking to skimp, but rather because, like many others, I'm playing the waiting game for the MacPros with Thunderbolt....and whatever other slots, interfaces, etc, they may have. I have a MacBook Pro with thunderbolt, but my MacPro has the RED Rocket in it. As soon as the MacPros come out I'll probably get the UltraStudio 3D (unless they come out with something better!).

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Rohit Gupta]

I'm looking into setting up Resolve on my MacPro and have consulted the Resolve Configuration which states that you need a capture card (like the DeckLink or Intensity). I'm assuming that this is if you want to have a monitor out to see your results on a reference monitor (I may be wrong). Are we still able to use Resolve without these cards?

I ask this question, not because I'm looking to skimp, but rather because, like many others, I'm playing the waiting game for the MacPros with Thunderbolt....and whatever other slots, interfaces, etc, they may have. I have a MacBook Pro with thunderbolt, but my MacPro has the RED Rocket in it. As soon as the MacPros come out I'll probably get the UltraStudio 3D (unless they come out with something better!).

Thanks for your feedback.

The Decklink card is required for full-screen video and audio monitoring. You can run Resolve without it, but you will probably want the full-screen video/audio monitoring capability.

 

[Doug Beatty]

Just out of curiousity, would you be able to arrange the Resolve interface so that you can undock the viewer and make it full screen on a second DVI monitor?

I know it's not even close to being an optimal solution, but a nice one for folks that want to try out Resolve and don't have a Decklink.

 

[jake blackstone]

Just out of curiousity, would you be able to arrange the Resolve interface so that you can undock the viewer and make it full screen on a second DVI monitor?

I know it's not even close to being an optimal solution, but a nice one for folks that want to try out Resolve and don't have a Decklink.

Users had been asking for this option from the day Resolve became available on a Mac.

 

[Tehben Dean]

Since Resolve is basically free now, BM may be banking on hardware sales....

 

[Steve Sherrick]

To learn Resolve, you can get away without it I suppose. But honestly, I think you need it from day one. You need to see the results on a calibrated monitor via HD-SDI or HDMI. The BM Extreme 3D card gives you the most flexibility in terms of input/output and does YUV/RGB up to 444. However, the Decklink SDI card ($295) does work if all you need is an HD-SDI 10-Bit 4:2:2 monitoring path. The drivers work across all the BM cards. The problem is, you run out of slots very quickly. In my system, I have a GT120, GTX 285, Decklink, and an ATTO SAS card. Red Rocket is the odd man out. So, it's then to an expansion chassis such as the Cubix. That adds a couple of grand and apparently a lot of noise. So be prepared for that. I don't need realtime playback, but now I'm starting to want it. I think ultimately I will end up with Resolve - the full version -, more GPUs, Decklink Extreme 3D, etc. I know there has been some controversy over the free version, but I think this may work out for BM. They got me in the door with Lite and a stripped down system, and now that I've played with it, I want way more. I'll be grading a video that will be shot on Epic and displayed in 4K, so I need the full version. Resolve is a great tool!

 

[Jean Déraps]

Thanks for your feedback.
I agree that the monitor out is essential...it's just that, as I mentioned in my first post, I'm not trying to be stingy and avoid getting a card, but for many reasons (lack of slot space, thunderbolt compatitibility, etc) I'd like to wait it out (new MacPros early 2012?) so that whatever I get will be based on the new MacPro models... I'd be a very unhappy camper if I got a card only to find out that the specs have changed (more slots? less slots? new faster version of Thunderbolt?). As you've pointed out, Steve, it's not an easy decision. Do I really want an expensive noisy expansion chassis if there are (possibly) good thunderbolt solutions just around the corner? The new MacPros (if they do come out) may have double the capacity in Thunderbolt channels. This would allow me to put some graphics cards in a Magma ExpressBox 3T chassis, plug in an UltraStudio 3D so I can use this both on the road with my MacBook Pro (perhaps with less stellar performance) as well as the new improved MacPro.... As of right now though, it's a big headache just trying to get things to happen in a single MacPro with the limit of 4 PCI slots...